Chapter 128: Good Clothes
Sigh.
The letter I wrote to Pakura yesterday was a little too careless.
That night, Konan slept soundly. She even dreamed of Yahiko cupping her face in his hands and gently calling her name.
"Konan."
"Konan, wake up."
Konan slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at Pakura standing within her field of vision and blinked blankly. Then her expression returned to its usual cold composure.
Just then, a ray of sunlight streamed through the cave entrance, dispelling the darkness within.
She looked around and discovered that Uchiha Asuka was already gone.
Everything had felt like a dream, as though from beginning to end, there had only been the two of them.
However…
When she looked up and noticed that Pakura's lips were slightly swollen, the corner of Konan's mouth twitched.
That wasn't a dream.
"Did he leave?"
Pakura nodded.
"He left."
"Phew."
Konan let out a quiet sigh. She stood up, patted Pakura on the shoulder, and comforted her.
"You'll see him again."
"I'm back."
The moment she finished speaking, Konan heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from the cave entrance.
???
Seeing Asuka return with food, she hesitated before silently taking a step backward.
"It's time to eat."
Pakura gave Konan a mischievous glance before taking her arm and leading her toward the entrance.
Sigh.
After putting the food down, Asuka rubbed his sore arm and said helplessly,
"I originally wanted to treat you to fried chicken, but someone insisted that eating that kind of food would make you fat."
"Hehe~"
Pakura chuckled. She opened the breakfast she had brought, handed a portion to Konan, and said,
"I remember you complained in your last letter that the Uchiha elders had all gotten rather fat. They eat too much and sleep too much, yet they can't come up with any good ideas."
"That isn't my fault."
Asuka took a bite of bread before eloquently defending himself.
"It's because they can't control their competitive nature. They always want to eat more than everyone else."
The elders who favored the village and those who favored the clan would argue over food before every clan meeting.
To make their words of "mediation" sound more convincing, even the neutral elders had started competing with them.
The Uchiha respected strength above all else. Even when it came to eating, they respected whoever could eat the most.
According to the old people in the clan, the reason they had pledged allegiance to Hashirama Senju back then was because the First Hokage was stronger than Madara Uchiha.
"Your family really is…"
Pakura shook her head, momentarily at a loss for words.
This was the first clan she had ever encountered that competed so fiercely, both internally and externally.
Uchiha Madara.
The moment Asuka mentioned that name, a glint flashed through Konan's eyes.
She took a small sip of hot porridge and asked casually,
"Did Uchiha Madara really defect back then?"
"Not exactly."
Asuka shook his head.
"At first, he simply left Konoha with that big gunbai of his and some other belongings. It wasn't until he was killed by the First Hokage that the clan officially regarded him as a traitor."
That fan?!
Thinking of the enormous fan Madara carried, Konan's gaze sharpened.
Is he really dead?
Hearing the faint voice beside him, Asuka stopped eating his bread and turned toward Konan.
He stared at her for a long while.
Eventually, she blushed under his gaze.
Only then did he speak seriously.
"Everyone says he's dead, but I can see him every day when I open my eyes."
???
Konan looked at him in confusion before a look of realization flashed across her face.
His photograph must be hanging on the wall. That's why he can see him every day, right?
Konan lowered her head and took another sip of plain porridge, suddenly feeling a great deal of pressure.
The Uchiha clan's legendary gunbai, passed down through generations, really was lost. And the fan Madara possesses now should be the genuine one.
That's really bad news.
And Madara had already found them.
His strange abilities were practically impossible to guard against.
He was almost unstoppable.
Thinking about the opponent's bizarre abilities, Konan secretly glanced at Asuka, who was quietly drinking his porridge.
His abilities are strange too.
The Uchiha really is an incredibly powerful clan.
In the Land of Rain, there was a seemingly prosperous city.
Asuka took a day off under the excuse of going shopping and disguised himself before walking through the city's streets with Pakura.
Splash! Splash!
Listening to the steady rain around them, Konan looked at the two people walking ahead with their fingers interlocked.
Once again, she thought of Yahiko.
If Yahiko were still alive, would we be like this too?
"By the way…"
Asuka turned his head toward Konan and lowered his voice.
"Why does this third wheel keep following us?"
Pakura rolled her eyes at him.
"Where else do you expect her to go?"
"We're spending the whole day with you. Afterward, we're going out for a walk."
"Are you really planning to join them?"
"Not yet."
"Phew."
Asuka quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The Akatsuki was terrifying.
Aside from Sasuke's group, the entire organization had been completely wiped out.
It seemed Pakura really was considering joining the Akatsuki.
Asuka secretly glanced at Konan and wondered,
How did Konan and Pakura get involved with the Akatsuki anyway?
Splash!
Konan stepped into a puddle.
The cold rainwater soaked her feet, sending a chill through her body and pulling her out of her memories.
"This skirt isn't worth that much."
Konan noticed someone radiating an intense presence and looked up at Pakura, who was haggling with a vendor.
The stall displayed clothes in all kinds of styles.
Judging by their appearance, the workmanship was quite good. Ordinary people might only wear clothes of this quality for a few days during New Year's and other festivals.
Despite being intimidated by Pakura's aura, the vendor gritted his teeth and refused to agree.
Clearly, Pakura was haggling far too aggressively.
Asuka stood to the side and helplessly looked up at the sky.
He had just been complaining about some of Pakura's shortcomings.
After all, if a politically clueless idiot really joined the Akatsuki, there was a good chance they would be betrayed by the organization.
But…
Before he could even finish, Pakura had exploded.
She insisted on proving that she was independent, that she could live perfectly well on her own outside, and that she absolutely wouldn't be cheated.
To demonstrate her survival skills, Pakura dragged Asuka to the stall and personally showed him her haggling technique.
A normal person's approach to bargaining was to cut the price in half.
Pakura's approach was to cut herself at the ankle.
Watching the vendor's face turn bright red, Asuka beckoned to the female shopkeeper and called her aside.
He secretly pulled several bills from his pocket, handed them to her, then glanced toward the still-arguing Pakura and winked as if to say, You know what I mean.
"Oh~"
Following Asuka's finger, the shopkeeper looked at Pakura.
She secretly sized up Pakura's perfect figure and immediately estimated her measurements.
"Handsome, leave it to me."
She stuffed the money into her pocket, returned to the stall, and crouched down to rummage through the merchandise beneath it.
Found it.
She looked down at the somewhat revealing piece of clothing in her hands.
Then she secretly slipped it into a black plastic bag.
After glancing at Pakura, who was still arguing with her father—er, the vendor—she walked over to Asuka with small, mysterious steps.
"Good work."
Asuka instinctively accepted the black package she handed him and weighed it in his hand.
So light.
What's inside?
Seeing the handsome young man staring at her blankly, the shopkeeper assumed he was embarrassed.
She smiled knowingly but didn't say anything.
"A very good gift for a female friend. Wearing it will make her more attractive."
"Really?"
Asuka tightened his grip around the package again, roughly understanding what it was.
He hadn't seen much, but there was a reason he had drawn so many doujinshi in his previous life.
This shopkeeper is really considerate.
Thinking this, he pulled out several more bills and handed them to her seriously.
"My meaning is, just pretend she successfully haggled the price down and sell her the skirt."
"Oh~"
The shopkeeper nodded.
Seeing Asuka secretly stuff the plastic bag into his clothes, she chuckled.
"So that's what it was. Auntie misunderstood."
"I don't think that was entirely a misunderstanding."
Asuka smacked his lips before returning to the stall and watching Pakura haggle.
His expression was helpless.
Haggling was one thing, but there was no way you could reduce a $9.90 item to nine cents.
Ten minutes later.
Pakura handed the package to Asuka, a trace of pride in her voice.
"See?"
"Great job!"
Asuka's gaze swept over Pakura's perfect figure as his imagination began running wild about what tonight might look like.
Hearing his somewhat perfunctory response, Pakura walked up to him and looked at his bulging chest with confusion.
"What are you holding against your chest? Why are you hugging it so tightly?"
Asuka snapped back to reality.
"Ahem."
After clearing his throat, he noticed the shopkeeper looking at him teasingly.
He immediately repeated what he had said to Pakura earlier.
"A very good gift for a female friend. Wearing it will make her more attractive."
Pakura froze.
She stared at Asuka's serious expression before asking in confusion,
"Is there really a skirt like that?"
"There is. We'll find out tonight."
"Okay."
Asuka, since you said this skirt can enhance one's charm, why don't we buy one for Konan too?
"No. That's not a good idea."
"It won't cost you anything."
"This has nothing to do with money."
"Then what exactly is it?"
"The situation isn't good."
"Tsk!"
Pakura rolled her eyes at Asuka before turning around.
"I've known Konan for so long, and I've never bought her anything."
With that, she returned to the stall and pointed toward Konan standing farther away.
She said to the shopkeeper,
"Get another set of those clothes that enhance one's personal charm. Put them in a nice gift box. I want to give them to a friend."
That evening.
At an inn in the Land of Rain.
Konan looked at the gift box in her hands, warmth spreading through her heart.
It had been a very long time since anyone had given her a gift.
Rip!
After tearing away the outer wrapping, she looked expectantly at the black plastic bag inside the gift box.
The corners of her lips curled upward slightly.
It's wrapped so tightly.
She took the clothes out of the black plastic bag, unfolded them, lifted them toward the light, and shook them open.
"…"
Light shone through the holes in the garment and fell across Konan's face.
Her expression instantly became a mixture of black and white.
This outfit…
Konan silently folded the clothes, put them away, turned off the light, and went to bed.
The entire process was smooth and decisive.
The shopkeeper must have sent me the wrong item.